Power-transmitting mechanism



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. C. HENRY. f

POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM. No. 500,000. Patented June 20, 1803.

W/TNESSES: /l/VVENTOI? Mw@ d@ j( Z/ @mw (No Modem 2 Sheets-sheet 2.. J. C. HENRY.

POWER TRANSMITTING MEGHANISM, l No. 500,069. Patented June 20, 1893r W/TNESSES.'

/NVE/VTO/ 7% ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. HENRY, OF W'ESTFIELD, NEW`JERSEY.

POWER-TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,069, dated June 20, 1893.

Original application filed April 29, 1892, Serial No.

431,205. Divided and this application filed December 28, 1892. Serial No.

456,598. (No model.) Y

l To all whom zit may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JOHN C. HENRY@ citizen of the United States, residing at Westfield, county of Union, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Power-Trausmitting Mechanism for Electric-Railway Cars and for other Purposes, of which the following is a specification. v

The present application is a division of my application, Serial No. 431,205, .tiled April 29, 1892.

It relates more especially to the mechanism for transmitting power from the motor shaft to the driving axles of an electric car. Under the present invention, the motor is mounted between a pair of axles and its shaft is 1ne-. chanically coupled to both axles by means of elastic belts and countershafts as will be more fully explained hereinafter. By this means, a light high speed motor may be used, its vibrations and the shifting of the axles are without effect on the transmitting mechanism, the mechanism is noiseless, and the tension of the belts thereof is so regulated proportionately to the load that loss from slipping is prevented.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specificationz-Figure] is a side elevation of the motor and running gear of a car illustrating my invention.- Fig. 2is a top view of the same, with platform or truck-frame, and parts of the motor removed. Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate the application of the invention to the driving of dynames.

1 is the frame of the body of an electric railway car, from which the motor, whose field magnets are shown at 2 and armature at 3, is

y suspended by hangers 4 preferably centrally between the axles 5, 5. The motor therefore, partakes of the movement of the car-body, the latter being supported in the usual manner, or in any preferred way, by springs from the axles, or truck frame, or both.

The armature shaft is shown at 6, and has keyed to it pulleys 7, 7 on which run elastic belts 8, 8 passing around pulleys 9, 9 on counter-shafts 10, 10. The counter-shafts 10, 10 run in bearings on the free ends of the hangers 11 which are swiveled or journaled to the car-axles, as shown. On the axles and counter-shafts are respectively keyed gears 12 and pinions 13, which intermesh. It will be seen that the hangers 11 hold the pinions 13 in mesh with the gears 12, and that the weight of the hangers, pinions, andthe pulleys 9 is supported from the axles and the armature shaft by means of the hangers 11 and the belts 8, the said mechanism being free to travel around the axles, except as opposed by the belts. This weight, may, however be in whole or in part counterbalanced if,c desirable. It will be observed that the motor shaft drives Vthe counter-shafts 10, with their accompanying pinions, and that the latter in turn drive the car-axles in the proper directionand with a proper reduction of speed, owing to the proper proportioning of the sizes of pulleys 7, 9 and pinion and gear 13, 12.

Though ordinarily belting is used to change the relation of speed between electric dynamos and their driving engines, and as a means of power transmission in other machinery, its application to electric motors for driving cars has heretofore been considered impracticable, principally because a proper degree of adhesion could not be maintained between the belt and its pulleys, as in all heretofore known constructions, the strain on the bottom of the belt invariably slackens it on top and the adhesion depends on'the strain or pressure of the belt against the pulley. In the design herein shown when in operation, the strain is alike on the top and bottom.

Byv referring to the arrows indicating the direction of the movement of the different parts shown in Fig. 1, it will-be observed that the lower side of the belt is moving toward the armature under tension as it is driving the car. At the same time the pinion 13, is

riding at one axle up and at the other axle f IOO this means greatly increased in direct proportion to the work being done, and the positiveness of the action of the belt is accordingly heightened. The distance between the armatureshaft 6 and the shafts 10, 10 increases with the load. A further beneficial effect of the arrangement where the described elastic belts are used is that the constant tension of the belt tends to pull apart the pinions and their intel-meshing gears, at the same time keeping their teeth together with a resilient pressure. This does away with the noisiest features of the present electric rail" way system. I have found that the disagreeable noise of the gearing of such cars is caused by the bottoming or wedging of the teeth and what is termed back-lash,? that is, the rattling of one set of teeth against the other, and this noise cannot be made in the present syst'em where the teeth, being held apart, cannot bottom in each other, and being held with spring pressure against each other cannot rattle. The inequalities of load which ordinarily cause back-lash are compensated for by the spring of the beltwhich is always sufiicient to hold the teeth of the gear rmly tol gether.

In the drawings the dotted lines indicate the position the parts will assume when the car is running in a direction, opposite to the arrows.

By having the belts elastic, I am enabled to secure a cushioning action of the pinion and gear teeth on each other at both axles-an effect not obtainable by the use of inelastic beltin g where the motor propelling it is spring,

supported.

Figs. 1 and and 2 the above description relate to the application of the invention to an Velectric car. Figs. 3 and 4 show how it may be usefully applied to the driving of dyna mos. Here the speed is to be geared up instead of down. In Fig. 3, the driving shaft 6*L has fixed to ita large gear Wheel 16 which meshes with a pinion 12a keyed on countershaft 10 hung loosely by arms 21 from the shaft 6a; shaft l()a has also keyed to italarge pulley 18 over which runs an elastic belt 20 which also runs over the small pulley 9 of shaft 19 of dynamo 14. In Fig. fthe driving shaft 6 has keyed to it the large pulley 18 and the belt 2Ob runs thereon and on a small pulley 9* keyed to counter-shaft 10b carried by the arms 21b whichturn loosely on the dyvnamo shaft 19. Keyed also tocounter-shaft 10b is the large gear-wheel 16b which intermeshes with the pinion 12'J keyed to the dynamo shaft.

In the form of mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3, tho belt is the rapid running part of the mechanism while in the form shown in Fig. 4, it is slow running.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination of a motor or driving shaft, an axle or driven shaft, a countershaft mounted so as to rotate about one of said shafts under changing loads, and connected therewith, a pulley on said countershaft, and an elastic belt running directly between said pulley and said motor or driving shaft, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a motor, a pair of axles, countershafts connected to said axles and mounted so as to move around the same, pulleys on said countershafts and elastic belts driving both of said countershafts directly from the shaft of said motor, substantiallyas set forth.

JOHN C. HENRY. Witnesses:

SUSIE A. HENRY, HARRY E. KNIGHT. 

